Silken Red Hair
by corset-rebellion-follower
Summary: Hermione is going out with Ron. Sort of. But when he stands her up during their first date, someone comes to comfort Hermione. But Ron isn't willing to let her go, and trouble is waiting just around the corner. FWHG. A little RonHermione, too. On Hiatus.
1. The Annoucement

Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 1: The Announcement 

The Great Hall was completely silent. Everyone was staring at the professors' table, looking for the reason that dinner was delayed. Dumbledore finally stood. A look of relief washed over the faces of the student. Once Dumbledore was done speaking, they could eat.

"Good evening. I am terribly sorry that I have delayed this delicious meal. But I have a piece of very exciting news. We are going to be having a Halloween ball in two weeks time, on Friday the 31st. All students in third year and over are invited to attend." A loud groan from the first and second years filled everyone's ears.

Dumbledore waited for everyone to calm down before continuing.

"However, if a first or second year is asked to the ball, then they may come as well. It will begin at eight p.m. and last until midnight, but first and second years that may be attending must return to their dormitories at ten." Another groan rose from the first and second years. But most of the students were talking excitedly about the ball.

"Are you going to ask Ginny this year, Harry?" Hermione Granger asked. Harry Potter's cheeks turned bright red. "Are you going with Malfoy? After Krum, he should be an improvement," Ron Weasley asked with venom in his voice. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you going to snog it up with Lavender?" she fired back. He merely turned back to his dinner, which had appeared like everyone else's.

"Who are you going to ask, Ron? Now that Lavender hates you, she might not want to go with you," Harry joked. Ron threw a roll at him. Harry grinned.

"Well I think it's a waste of time. I could understand the Yule Ball, that was for international magical cooperation. But this seems like a misuse of good study time," Hermione complained.

"You just don't like having fun, Hermione. Or you don't like any ball that doesn't involve snogging Viktor Krum," Ron scoffed. Hermione scowled at Ron before storming out of the Great Hall, grabbing her books in the process. She had made it to the Fat Lady before Ron caught up with her. "Wow… your… faster than I thought," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

Ron and Hermione ignored her. "What do you want, Ronald?" Hermione asked briskly. "I… I need to talk to you," he stammered.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked again, slightly disgruntled.

"Well, we're standing here now. Talk," Hermione demanded. "Not here! It's private!" Ron hissed.

"PASSWORD!" the Fat Lady yelled.

Both Ron and Hermione looked taken aback. But Hermione finally got her senses back together. "Tommertoose." The portrait hole opened and they stepped into the common room. The only one in there was Neville, who was reading a Herbology book.

"I… let's go up to the boys dormitories. I'll tell you there." He took her hand, something she didn't expect him to do, and lead her up to his dormitory. He brought her to his bed and closed the curtains around them when they were both inside. "Um… Hermione… I… I don't know quite how to say this, but I… I like you. More than friends. And… I want to take you to the ball. So what do you say?"

Hermione was speechless. _All the snide remarks, all the fights that we've had, he didn't mean it? But _all of Hermione's thoughts melted away. Ron's lips were connected to hers. They both ended the kiss quickly.

"Um… Ron, I… I never…" She paused. "I would love to go to the ball with you." A huge grin illuminated Ron's face. "Thanks, Hermione! You have no idea how worried I was that you were going to say no," he said in a relieved voice.

She smiled. But when she left Gryffindor common room, the smile faded. _What did I just do? I'm going on a date with Ron! I __**kissed **__Ron! What's wrong with me? _She shook the memory from her head and made her way to the library. _Thank goodness it's the weekend. And it's a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. I need some new dress robes for the ball. And for my date… with Ron… _

A few giggles arose from a nearby bookcase. Parvati Patil emerged from the books. She saw Hermione and quickly walked over to her. "Hey, Hermione! What are you doing here?" she asked happily. "I'm, um, reading. That's usually what you do in a library," Hermione answered nervously. Parvati smirked.

"There's more than that. What's going on?" Hermione sighed. "Ron asked me to the ball. And I said yes. And he kissed me." Parvati squealed. "Ooh, Hermione, that's so cute! Although Lavender might not be too happy with you. But still, that's so cute!" she yelled. Madam Pince shushed her as she went by. Parvati turned to leave before Madam Pince could yell at her again.

"Um… Parvati?" She turned around. Hermione walked up to her. "Parvati, I need help picking out new dress robes. I'm not very good with fashion. Can you help me?" she asked sheepishly. Parvati grinned and squealed again.

"I would love to! I was always wondering when you would need help on this subject. And I'll get Lavender to help too. No matter how mad she is at Ron. Meet us tomorrow at Honeydukes at eleven. We can do lunch, and then go shopping. Can't wait!" Parvati ran out of the library. Hermione sighed.

_What have I gotten myself into? _She shook her head and made her way back to the common room. Harry and Ron were waiting for her inside. "So Hermione, where do you want to go in Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Harry asked as she sat down in an armchair near theirs.

"I can't. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown are taking me shopping." Ron and Harry both stared at her. "Since when do you go shopping? Especially with the giggle pair," Ron asked.

"Since I want to. So have fun without me." She got up and went to bed.


	2. Hogsmeade

Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 2: Hogsmeade 

Sunny skies greeted Hermione the next morning. She smiled at the pleasant weather. _Perfect for Hogsmeade. _She pushed herself out of bed and got dressed quickly, still pulling on one of her shoes while hopping down the stairs to the common room. Harry and Ron were already down there. Ron was the first one to spot her. He smiled shyly at her until Harry turned around and saw her too.

"Hey Hermione. Getting ready to have fun with the giggle pair?" Harry asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"I l-like your outfit, Hermione," Ron said quietly. Hermione smiled and looked at her outfit. It was a red polo with a miniskirt, a silver purse and red ballet flats. "Thanks, Ron. That's sweet of you. I'm starving, let's get some breakfast."

They went down to the Great Hall and started filling their plates with food as soon as they could sit down. Nearly every boy in the Great Hall stopped to look at Hermione. Every boy except the boys at the Syltherin table. They looked at her in loathing, especially Draco Malfoy. Hermione didn't notice though. She was happily eating her porridge. Harry and Ron looked at each other before turning back to Hermione.

"Are you alright, Hermione? You seem a bit… overexcited," Harry noted. She shrugged. "I guess I'm just in a good mood."

Professor McGonagall stood up at the professors' table. "All students going to Hogsmeade, come with me."

They pushed their plates toward the center of the long table and left the Great Hall. Once their permission slips were collected; which took awhile because Harry had to get his old slip that Sirius signed from Filch, which was hard because Filch wanted to make sure that he didn't forge Sirius's name; they made their way down to the village.

Hermione checked Ron's watch. "It's nine o' clock right now. I have two hours with you guys before I have to meet Parvati and Lavender to go shopping." Ron snorted. "I still can't believe you're going shopping with Lavender. She's probably going to say a bunch of horrid things that will make you hate me," he scoffed. Harry knit his eyebrows. "Am I missing something?" he asked, looking from Ron to Hermione.

"I'll tell you after Hermione goes off with Parvati and Lavender," Ron assured him. Harry looked at both of them strangely before shaking his head. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer." They walked into the crowded pub. It was already filled with students, including Parvati and Lavender. When Parvati saw her, she waved for Hermione to come over.

"Sorry, guys, got to go. I'll talk to you later." She got up and walked over to where Parvati and Lavender were. "Hey, Hermione! Ready to go shopping?" Parvati asked excitedly. "I thought we weren't going shopping until after lunch," Hermione said quietly. "Well, we thought that you could use a day with the girls. You're always with Harry and Ron, and when you're not with them, then you're studying. So have some fun today! It'll be great!" Parvati insisted.

Hermione looked at Lavender. She had a sour look on her face. "Are you ok, Lavender?" she asked.

"I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Ron went out with me to get another girl jealous. And I wouldn't be too surprised if he does it to you, too," Lavender said sharply. "Actually, um, I was the one who Ron was trying to make jealous. Sorry 'bout that." Lavender's eyes widened. "Oh. Well, um… ok. It's alright… I think." Hermione smiled. _At least she doesn't hate me._

"So where do you want to go first?" Parvati asked. Hermione thought for a minute. "How about Honeydukes?" The other girls nodded and they all exited the Three Broomsticks. Honeydukes wasn't much less crowded. Everyone was running around, trying to find their favorite candies before their friends moved on to other shops. Hermione bought at least twenty jelly slugs. Parvati stuck an entire hand in a vat of chocolate fondue until the owners kicked them out of the shop. She was still licking chocolate from her hand as the three girls made their way back to the Three Broomsticks for lunch.

"I still can't believe that you did that, Parvati," Lavender said in disbelief. "It was great. That chocolate was just the right temperature, so my hand didn't get burned. Plus it tasted like a chocolate frog," Parvati retorted. Hermione giggled. They continued talking while eating sandwiches and drinking butterbeer.

At about noon, they stood up from their seats. "We should probably start shopping if we want to find good dresses for the ball," Lavender suggested. Parvati and Hermione nodded in agreement. They left the pub and started looking at the various windows.

"Hermione! Lavender! Come look at this shop!"

Both girls joined Parvati, who was inside the shop. Once they were both through the door, Lavender and Hermione stopped. The shop was decked out in red and green, plus the ceiling had icicles hanging from it, and the floor felt as if it were made of real ice. "I wouldn't want one of those to fall on my head," Lavender said cautiously, stepping out from under a particularly large icicle.

"You wouldn't have to worry about that, dear." A woman in a beautiful white dress glided over to them on ice skates, being careful not to leave any scratch marks on the perfect ice. "I'm Loraine Lustbalm, the owner of the shop. And those icicles are bewitched so that they don't fall and don't melt and ruin my stock. Now, how can I help you girls?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"We're looking for dresses for a ball. Especially my friend here." Parvati pushed Hermione in front of Loraine. Loraine smiled at Hermione. "I'm sure we can find you a perfect dress, dear. Follow me." She led them to the back of the store. There were beautiful dresses lining the entire back wall. "You have a very pale complexion, so we should try something a little bright… how about… this one?"

Loraine held out a yellow chiffon dress. "Um… no thanks. Yellow really isn't my color," Hermione insisted, looking at the dress with a hint of disgust on her face. "Oh, you're right, silly me. How about this?" Next was a black satin dress with orange, vertical stripes on it. Hermione shook her head.

"I want to try that on," Lavender exclaimed, "The colors are so appropriate." She took the dress from Loraine and went back to a row of changing booths.

"Or this," Loraine added, displaying a deep purple dress. "Hermione, do you want that? If you don't, I want to try it on," Parvati whispered. Hermione gestured toward the dress. Parvarti squealed happily and took the dress from Loraine.

Hermione sighed. _Great. I still have no dress. _"Dear, if you really want to impress someone at this ball, I may have a dress you could try," Loraine said in a nervous voice. Hermione shrugged. "What have I got to lose?" Loraine pulled Hermione through a door that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Inside was one dress.

It was a brilliant red. Hermione cautiously touched it, not wanting to damage it in any way. "Would you like to try it on?" Loraine asked, smiling at Hermione's reaction. Hermione merely nodded. Loraine carefully took the dress off it's mannequin and handed it to Hermione before disappearing out the door. Hermione slipped off her clothes and stepped into the dress.

It fit perfectly, as if it had been made just for her. The dress's skirt went to her knees, and a red tulle was underneath the silk so that the skirt would be a little fuller. The straps were made of gold silk, and the bottom of the dress was edged with the same material. Hermione sighed happily. _This is the perfect dress. _

"Hermione, come out! We want to see your dress!" She took a deep breath before stepping out of the door. There was a slight silence. Parvati and Lavender stared at her with wide eyes. She looked down. _Is there something wrong with it? _

"Hermione… you look… beautiful," Lavender breathed.

"More than you did for the Yule Ball in fourth year," Parvati added.

A grin spread across Hermione's face. "This is our finest dress. I was saving it for a special customer. Shall I ring you up?" Loraine asked excitedly. Hermione nodded. "Just slip off the dress in the other room and bring it out here when you're dressed," Loraine called, heading to the register with Parvati and Lavender.

Hermione went back through the door and changed, then emerged with her own clothes back on and the red dress folded neatly in her arms. Loraine took it from her when she reached the register and put it in a big white box. "That'll be nineteen galleons and four sickles." Hermione handed her the money and took the box. Parvati and Lavender each had white boxes under their arms. They all exited the shop together. And as they made their way back to Hogwarts, Hermione felt completely ready for the ball. She smirked a little. _Wait until Ron sees me in this. _


	3. Strange Things Happen on Halloween

Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 3: Strange Things Happen on Halloween 

Hermione checked the clock that was hanging on the wall of the girls' dormitory. It was seven-thirty. She closed the book she was reading and got up. She opened the white box on her bedside table. The beautiful red dress was still inside. She sighed happily before taking it out and laying it on her bed. She got undressed and carefully pulled on the dress, smoothing the skirt so that there wouldn't be any wrinkles in it. Parvarti came out of the girls' bathroom. She was already wearing the deep purple dress she had bought.

"Finally you decided to get dressed. It's only a half hour till the ball starts," she prompted. Hermione shrugged. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her hair. Instantly, it was set in neat curls.

Parvarti nodded in approval. "That's an improvement from your normally bushy hair." Hermione threw a pillow at her. Parvarti laughed and ran a brush through her already perfectly straight black hair. She looked into the white box on Hermione's bed.

"Did you buy that tiara? I don't remember you getting one," she said. Hermione walked over to the box. A tiara was sitting in the bottom. A note was attached to it.

_Hope your date goes well. This is a gift from me to a girl with great taste. Good luck._

_Loraine_

The tiara had red stones set in gold. Hermione had trouble breathing, it was so beautiful. She slipped it into her hair, put on her gold shoes, and left Gryffindor Tower. She came to the entrance hall. _Where's Ron? _Finally, she saw him. He was talking to Harry. Harry spotted her and slapped Ron on the arm. Ron looked over to Hermione, his smile broadening. She walked over to them.

"Hi."

"Whoa, Hermione. You look… whoa," Ron muttered. She smiled. "You look really beautiful, Hermione," Harry said.

Hermione was grinning now. "Thanks. Shall we?" She linked arms with Ron and all three of them entered the Great Hall. Harry left to find his date.

"So… you wanna dance?" Ron asked nervously. She nodded joyfully. They stepped onto the dance floor. The song was slow, so Ron uncertainly took Hermione's hand and waist. "You know, you don't have to be afraid to touch me. I'm still Hermione," she reminded him.

He nodded. "I know. You just look… so different then I'm used to. Really lovely," he said quietly. Hermione could feel herself blush. A smile grew on her face. But the song ended and they stepped off the dance floor.

"I'm going to get something to drink. I'll be right back." Ron left. She looked around. Everyone was talking and laughing and having fun. And for once, she was one of those people, and not someone who was so uptight about studying and following rules. She walked through the crowd. Most boys who didn't have dates stared and smiled flirtatiously at her, but she ignored them. She was happy that Ron was her date. Until she witness what she saw next.

Ron was kissing Lavender.

She stormed over to them. "Ron, how could you?" she screamed. Ron and Lavender broke off, and Lavender ran off. "I finally agree to go out with you and you go kissing your ex-girlfriend!" she continued.

"Hermione, I can seriously explain," Ron insisted.

"Don't bother! I never want to see you again!" She ran out of the Great Hall and out of Hogwarts castle, down the road to Hogsmeade. Tears were running down her cheeks. _That bloody git! _She entered the Three Broomsticks. A few men whistled at her, but she ignored them. "One butterbeer, please," she told the bartender in a broken voice. He handed her a bottle of butterbeer. She popped the cap off and sipped at it. Tears were still running down her cheeks. _I hate my life. _She stared into her butterbeer bottle. A few tears dropped into it.

A man sat next to her. "Hey, honey. Want to go to the ball with me?" She rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Come on, no need to be cold," he coaxed.

"No. Leave me alone," she hissed.

A cold, clammy hand touched her back. She faced the man.

"Get your filthy hand off me and leave me alone!" He pulled her against him.

"Let go!" she screamed.

"Hermione?" She looked to the source of the voice. Fred Weasley was standing in the doorway.

"Fred!" She broke free from the man's grip and ran over to him. The man followed. Fred put Hermione behind him.

"I hope your not messing with my girl," the man warned.

"She's not your girl, you don't even know her name. Leave her alone," Fred snarled. The man made a menacing face at both of them and stalked off. Fred and Hermione quickly left the Three Broomsticks. He walked her over to where you could see the shrieking shack and sat her down on a rock.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" he asked anxiously. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me," Hermione insisted. He gently smiled at her. "Good. And if it makes any difference, I think you look absolutely beautiful. What's the occasion?" Hermione's smile dropped.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "I… I don't want to talk about it." He looked at her in concern. "Tell me, Hermione."

She sighed. "It's your git of a brother. There's a Halloween Ball tonight at Hogwarts and Ron was my date. He left for a few minutes and I found him kissing… kissing Lavender Brown." She burst into tears. He gently pulled her into a hug. "Hermione, I'm so sorry. Ron is just a git. You deserve better," he assured. She pulled away and stared at Fred with watery eyes. "Thanks. That means a lot."

He smiled at her. "No problem." He paused for a moment. "Tell you what. How about I take you back to Hogwarts and accompany you to the ball. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind," he proposed. She looked at her dress.

_I didn't pay good money just to let this dress go to waste. _"Ok. But promise me you won't go off kissing someone else," she teased. "Of course not, you have my word. May I?" He held out his hand. Hermione giggled and took it, getting up off the rock and heading back to Hogwarts. "So, do you hate my git of a younger brother?" Fred asked lightly.

Hermione giggled. "No. I may not want to help him with his homework for a while, but I don't hate him," she decided. They reached Hogwarts and went into the entrance hall.

Filch suddenly stopped them. "Mr. Weasley. I'm quite sure you don't attend this school anymore. And you have no invitation to be here. Miss Granger, you are to be held responsible, sneaking people into the castle. I'm afraid I'll have to…"

"Argus."

Filch turned around. Professor Dumbledore was behind them. "Argus, is everything alright out here?" he asked calmly.

"No, Professor. Miss Granger has been sneaking people into the castle." He looked to Fred. Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"Mr. Weasley, a pleasure to see you again. I hear your business is doing quite well." Fred smiled. "Yes, sir, It's doing great." Next, Dumbledore turned to Hermione. "You look very stunning this evening, Miss Granger." Hermione blushed. "Thank you, Professor." Dumbledore turned back to Filch.

"Argus, Mr. Weasley has my permission to attend the ball tonight, no need to punish anyone. Have fun." He smiled and winked at Fred and Hermione before going back into the Great Hall. Filch eyed them suspiciously until they walked back to the ball. A faster-paced waltz was playing. Professor Dumbledore came back over to them.

"Miss Granger, I was hoping to have a chat with you. Will you join me?" Hermione looked to Fred out of the corner of her eye. He nodded in approval. "Of course, Headmaster." She followed him over to where the other professors were. Fred looked around. Everything in the Great Hall was perfect. There were orange and black decorations and the ceiling was glittering with stars.

"Fred?"

He turned around.

Ginny was behind him with Neville Longbottom.

"What are you doing here? Did mum make you come back to school to finish the last year that you skipped?" Ginny asked.

Fred grinned. "No, I'm here with Hermione. I found her in Hogsmeade, crying her eyes out and getting sexually harassed by some man. I brought her back here," he explained. "Where's Ron? He's her date," Neville asked. Fred frowned a little. "Our git of a brother kissed Lavender Brown and Hermione found him." Ginny's face turned red. "The minute I see him, I swear, I'll pound his face in, I'll…"

"Ginny, mum will not like it if Ron comes back with a bloodied up face and you with his dried blood on your fist," he warned. She calmed down. "Your right. Neville and I are getting something to drink. Want to come?" she offered. "No, I'm going to wait here for Hermione. Have fun, lovebirds." Ginny stuck her tongue out at him before she and Neville left.

Hermione appeared in front of Fred. "How was your chat with the headmaster?" he asked lightheartedly. She giggled. "It was fine. He was just talking to me about Head duties and things like that," she answered. A slow song started to play.

Fred bowed to Hermione. "Miss Granger, I was hoping to dance with the prettiest girl in the room. Would you join me?" he asked. She giggled again and curtsied. "I would be honored." She took his hand and they walked onto the dance floor. He enclosed his arms tightly around her and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they began to dance. She laid her head on his chest.

_This is perfect. Like a beautiful dream. This is how my date should have gone from the beginning._

She lifted her head off his chest and looked into his blue eyes. They were sparkling from the stars shining on the ceiling. She could feel him getting closer.

"Hermione!"

She jumped and let go of Fred. He let go of her at the same time. Ron was standing beside her, grinning. "I'm glad I found you, I have to explain something to you." "Sorry, Ronald, I'm not talking to you. Go give your explanation to Lavender," she spat.

"That's what I have to tell you about. I just need a minute." Ron finally noticed Fred. "What're you doing here?"

"I found Hermione in Hogsmeade after you were caught snogging with Lavender. I was just escorting her back," Fred clarified. Hermione looked at him with scrunched eyebrows. _Didn't we just nearly kissed? _

"First of all, I wasn't snogging with Lavender. And I need to talk to Hermione." Fred rolled his eyes impatiently and walked away.

"What did you do that for? Fred was probably the only one being kind to me tonight, except for Dumbledore," Hermione yelled.

"Lavender kissed me! She wanted to get back together with me, so she kissed me to try and break us up, I had nothing to do with it!" Hermione was still scowling.

"Ok. I forgive you. But I have to find Fred, I'll talk to you later." Ron smiled a little, knowing that he was forgiven. Hermione ran into the crowd and started frantically looking around for Fred. She spotted a flash of flaming red hair, but it turned out to be Ginny who was dancing with Neville. She got out of the Great Hall and into the entrance hall when she finally saw him. She took off her shoes, ran over to him, and flung her arms around his neck.

She caught him by surprise and nearly knocked him over. "Hey, Hermione. Seeing how happy you are, I'm guessing you told Ron off," he said vaguely. "No, I forgave him, I just wanted to surprise you for once." He grinned at her.

"I'm really tired. You want to head up to my dorm?" she asked. "Only if Filch doesn't come after us with a knife or something." She laughed. "I promise he won't. Come on!"

"In that case…" He picked her up bridal style and carried her down the hallways and up staircases until they reached Gryffindor tower.

"Tommertoose," Hermione prompted. The Fat Lady eyed Fred suspiciously, almost as Filch had. "He doesn't belong to this house," she said in a snobby tone. "He used to. I said the password, now let us in," Hermione demanded. The Fat Lady sniffled in slight disgust before opening the portrait hole.

Fred and Hermione scrambled inside. They quietly crept up to her dorm, careful not to wake any of the first or second years, seeing as it was nearly midnight. Parvati and Lavender, plus the other seventh year Gryffindors were already in bed and asleep. Fred laid Hermione comfortably on her bed and laid next to her. After a moment of silence, Hermione spoke.

"Thanks for tonight, Fred. It was great. You really pulled me out of rock bottom," she whispered. He smiled. "No problem. I had more fun tonight than I expected." She smiled back. "Why were you in Hogsmeade? Your shop is in Diagon Alley." "I was checking on the competition. George and I heard some rumors that Zonko's was selling remakes of our products, so I went to check it out," he explained.

She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. "I'm glad you did. At least you know that you're a success, since others want to copy you," she pointed out. Fred gently stroked her brown curls. "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty successful if other people make money of my ideas." Hermione paused again.

"Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"When… when you and I were dancing… did you… did you almost… kiss me?" she asked quietly. He looked straight into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Hermione… call me crazy, but I think… I think I've fallen in love with you. Since the moment you looked into my eyes on the dance floor and I felt your breath on my lips."

There was just a moment when they looked into each other's eyes.

And they let their lips crash together; putting all the passion they had into the kiss.

Fred gently pulled her into his arms. Hermione slipped her arms around his neck, feeling his red hair. _It's like feeling silk. _They eventually had to pull apart for air, but they quickly pulled back together. Fred slid his tongue across her bottom lip, and Hermione parted her lips a little. The kiss deepened, both Fred and Hermione fully enjoying each other's taste.

They continued into the night, and soon they both fell asleep, Hermione still enclosed in Fred's arms.

A/N: Yeah! It's done! Fred and Hermione finally kiss! Woo hoo! I just decided on a whim that I wanted Hermione to be Head Girl and she's in her seventh year. Right now I'm pretending that the seventh and most of the sixth book don't exist, so that's why it's written how it's written. Personally, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Over two thousand words! But the next chapter's going to be good too, finding out how Ron takes it or if he finds out! Dun, dun, dun! Cheerio, mates!


	4. Saturday Feelings

Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 4: Saturday Feelings 

A cold breeze blew through the window into the seventh year girls' dormitory. It was a normal autumn day. Hermione's eyes slowly opened. She felt cozy and relaxed, despite the cool weather. She saw what was keeping her so warm. Fred was still lying beside her, his arms protectively wrapped around her waist. She smiled and gently stroked some of his ginger hair. She looked past him. The two windows on that side were wide open. She stopped stroking Fred's hair and turned around. All the other windows were open. Then she realized what had happened. She could see the entire room in front of her. She had forgotten to close the curtains around her bed. She tried to get up, but Fred's arms held her tight. She lay back down next to him.

_How could I have been so stupid? I'm going to get in so much trouble!_

Unexpectedly, Fred's arms closed tighter around her and a soft kiss was laid on her cheek. Fred was looking into her eyes, a sweet smile on his face. "Fred, you have to leave! We didn't close the curtains before we fell asleep last night, my dorm mates had to have found us this morning! I could get expelled!" she exclaimed, fear in her voice.

"Don't worry so much. Dumbledore said I could be here," he said serenely.

"Dumbledore said you could be at the ball. The ball is over, and I could get expelled if you and I are found in here together."

He sighed. "Hermione, don't worry about it. If you get expelled, you can always come work at the shop." Hermione froze.

Fred chuckled. "I'm kidding! You're not going to be expelled because you're not going to get caught. You are in the presence of the best prankster Hogwarts has ever seen," he soothed. She snuggled into his arms, praying that McGonagall wouldn't burst through the door at that second, or any other second for that matter. He lightly stroked her hair and left a chaste kiss on her forehead. She smiled and looked up at him, giggling happily.

"What? Why are you giggling?" he asked. "I just… I'm just so happy. I didn't feel this way with Ron. When he kissed me…"

"He kissed you? When did this happen?" he asked in disbelief.

"When he asked me to the ball. But that's not important. Fred… how are we going to tell Ron and the others that we're together? He, um, doesn't take stuff like this easily," she stammered.

"Hermione, he's my little brother. I know how he takes things. Besides, if he tries anything, then I'll write to my mum and she'll send him an earful. I promise, he won't lay a finger on you." She smiled amiably and kissed him.

"Thank you. But we should probably get up. I never spend my Saturdays in bed." She tried to get up, but he kept his arms tightly around her. "Fred, let go!" she giggled.

"Nope. I have you in my arms after knowing you for six years. I'm not letting you go."

He pressed a line of kisses down her neck. Hermione moaned a little. His breath felt warm and satisfying against her pale skin. The tulle of her dress, which she had never taken off the night before, scratched against her legs. But Hermione was too wrapped up in Fred's kisses to notice. Eventually they had to stop because both of them were out of breath.

"How about I let you get up so your legs aren't bloodied up too bad from your dress," Fred suggested. Hermione smiled and got up. Her legs were scratched up dreadfully, and some of the scrapes were bleeding a little. Fred bent down and wiped away a small stream of blood that was running down her leg. "You might want to put a bandage on that. Sorry that I scratched your legs up so horribly. On the bright side, you have extremely smooth legs," he whispered flirtatiously.

She blushed and giggled a little. "I think I'm going to wash the blood from my legs." She got up and walked into the bathroom. Once she washed off all the blood, put bandages on a few cuts, and changed clothes, she emerged from the bathroom. Fred walked over to her and gently pulled her into his arms. She snickered and squeezed out of his grip. A few seconds later, the door swung open. Hermione and Fred both froze in their places.

_Busted._

But it was just Lavender. They both let out a sigh of relief.

"Um, hey Hermione. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for last night. So I brought you breakfast to make up for it. Professor Snape nearly caught me, but it was worth it. Here." She handed Hermione a few fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and two glasses of milk.

"It's ok, Lavender. If you hadn't kissed Ron, well… let's say I don't know where I would be right now. You can have Ron, he's too much of a git for me," she said, setting down the food and slapping Fred's hand away when he reached for a cinnamon roll.

Lavender grinned. "Thanks. I don't know what I was thinking last night, but I'm pretty sure that Pansy Parkinson spiked my butterbeer. So I hope this makes up for it," she said earnestly.

"It really does and… Fred, can you think of anything but food? Put that down!" she yelled. Fred dropped the cinnamon roll and innocently looked at the girls. They both busted out laughing.

"They do say the way to a man is through his stomach," Lavender pointed out once she stopped laughing.

"Personally, I don't think there's enough food in the world to get to Fred."

"Hey, I'm still standing here!" Fred noted. Hermione walked over to him and took a cinnamon roll from the dresser next to her bed and took a huge bite, being careful not to get any on her dress.

"I know. I like you so much that I can feel completely confident that you won't threaten me," she said with a full mouth. Fred took the cinnamon roll from her.

"You're right, I won't. But there's nothing that says I can't threaten your cinnamon roll." He took a bite out of it.

Lavender burst out in fits of giggles. "I think I'm going to go down to the library for a while. Have fun." She left the room.

Hermione didn't think of whether house elves slaved over the cinnamon roll she was eating. She was thinking about Ron and Harry. _They're probably going to hate me. Or at least Ron will. _She stopped chewing. _Ron's never going to let me date his brother. He'll probably slaughter Fred. _

"Hermione, are you alright?" Fred was staring at her. "Oh, yeah, I was just thinking about Ron," she answered.

"You know, for someone who doesn't like Ron in that way, you really do think about him a lot."

Hermione slapped his arm. "That isn't funny. Imagine how he'll react when he finds out I like you. He'll probably go berserk."

Fred rolled his eyes. "What's he going to do? Have a hissy fit?" Hermione opened the door to the common room and ran down the stairs. Ron was sitting on the couch in the common room. He jumped up and grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, Hermione! Where were you all last night?" he asked happily. Fred came down next, his hair tousled and his eyes sleepy. Hermione smirked. She knew Fred had put on this act for Ron. _He still looks cute. _

Ron wasn't grinning anymore; he now had a confused look. "Fred, what are you doing here?"

"I needed a place to stay for the night, so Dumbledore said I could stay here." Hermione knew this was a lie, but Fred's truth-bending skills were so good that Ron was fooled.

"Oh. I'm starving, do you want to go get some breakfast?" Ron offered, heading toward the portrait hole.

"Nah, I'm going to stay here. Don't eat too much, we want everyone else to eat," Fred joked. Ron grinned, obviously happy that his brother was back at Hogwarts, before leaving for breakfast. Once the portrait hole was closed and Fred and Hermione were alone, she walked over to him and pulled her arms around his neck.

"It really isn't fair to Ron that we keep this a secret. We should tell him when he gets back from breakfast," she resolved.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." He picked her up and carried her over to the couch, sitting her in his lap.

"Fred! What if Ron had come through the portrait hole and saw you pick me up? You need to be more careful until we tell him." He didn't respond. He immersed her neck in tender kisses, trying to distract her from her thoughts of Ron. She moaned lightly, curling her fingers through his ginger hair. Every time she moaned, he would press a little harder against her neck, which caused her to moan more.

Soon there was a dark bruise on Hermione's neck.

She pushed away his lips before he could kiss her again. "Fred! What did you do to my neck?" she asked, running her fingers over the bruise.

"I kissed your neck," he whispered, pulling down the strap of her tank top and pressing a kiss on her shoulder.

"This is not good! What if Ron sees? He'll get suspicious and then he'll find out and then he'll…" She was cut off. Fred had pressed his lips to hers in a heated kiss, gently slipping his tongue through her lips. She moaned into his mouth. He smiled as she started to kiss back. Eventually, the kiss ended.

She smiled at him. "We are so lucky the common room is empty," she whispered lightly. He grinned at her.

"I had no idea you were this bad," he said. "You don't know as much as you think you do about me," she whispered seductively, kissing his throat. Fred groaned a little. She smiled.

_Fred Weasley, you're mine._

She heard the portrait hole swing open.

"BLOODY HELL!" It was Ron.

Hermione's eyes widened. Then everything went dark.


	5. The Hospital Wing

Silken Red Hair

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

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Chapter 5- The Hospital Wing 

_What happened? I feel like I got hit with a brick. _Hermione sat up. She was in a bed, but it wasn't hers. She was in the hospital wing.

"She's awake!"

The first face she saw was Fred's. He had a concerned look on his face. Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Neville were the next people she saw.

"Hermione, are you ok?" Ginny asked immediately.

"I have a headache the size of a Quidditch pitch. What happened?" she asked, rubbing her temples.

"You fainted. For a minute we thought you had gone into a coma or something," Neville explained. Fred slipped her hand into his. Ron scowled at both of them.

"Ron, do you have to be such a prat? Hermione fainted and all you can think about is who she snogged?" Ginny hissed.

"She kissed me, Ginny. Imagine if you kissed someone, then you found him draped over another girl, snogging for anyone to see. Then imagine that this girl was your sister. Then you'd know how I feel," he snapped back. Hermione sat up and looked at Ron. He looked away. She sighed and looked at the white sheets on the bed. _I knew he was going to hate me. And __I__ was the one scolding __Fred__ about being more careful before I completely snogged him without wondering if Ron would come back through the portrait hole. _

She glanced to Fred. He still had his worried expression, and he was holding her hand and stroking it with his thumb. She looked to Harry next. He was frowning, but he looked more worried than angry. He hadn't said anything to her since she woke up.

"Um, can I talk to Harry alone, please?" she asked everyone. Ginny and Neville left her bedside immediately, Ginny dragging Ron with her. Fred gave her a small smile before detangling their fingers and following them out of the hospital wing. She looked up into Harry's green eyes.

"Harry… are you alright?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

"Fred and I weren't going to tell…"

"I can understand why you didn't tell Ron, but why not me? I probably wouldn't have thought about it twice," he said.

"I know. But Fred and I weren't even together for a day yet when Ron found us. In fact, Fred hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend yet. This whole thing sort of caught me by surprise, but it's probably one of the best things that have ever happened to me. So I'm sorry that I didn't tell you." They were both silent. Harry was now looking at the floor.

"So, I guess you'll need someone to keep Ron in check, won't you?" he asked. Hermione nodded.

"Probably. I wouldn't be surprised if Ron was pummeling Fred as we speak," Hermione replied.

Harry sighed. "You were going to tell me, right?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, we were probably going to tell you first anyway," she said. He smiled a little.

"Alright, I forgive you." Hermione jumped up and hugged Harry tightly.

"Thank you! And promise to keep Ron from killing Fred," she insisted.

"I'll try. But if Ron kills me, I'm going to haunt you forever," Harry warned jokingly. Hermione giggled. Fred strode back over to them.

"Is this something I should know about?" he asked. Hermione laughed and let go of Harry. Fred glanced at him. Harry took the hint and ran off to find Ron, Ginny, and Neville. Once he was gone, Fred placed a hand on Hermione's cheek.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly. She nodded.

"Yeah. I feel really stupid for letting Ron find us like that. I guess he's really mad at you," she whispered.

"Yes, he is, but he'll get over it. Eventually." Hermione smiled a little. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Madam Pomfrey.

"What are you doing out of bed? Lay back down this instant!" she screeched. Hermione quickly scrambled back into her bed. "And you, young man," Madam Pomfrey scolded, turning to Fred, "You may have permission to stay here until I discharge her, but I don't want any funny business, or I'll have you banished from the grounds for good!" She bustled off to her office and quietly closed the door.

"She really needs to lighten up," Fred said quietly. Hermione nodded.

"Are you really going to stay until I'm discharged?" she asked. He sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Yes. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't watch your every move while your sick?" he replied.

"You know, I'm not your girlfriend yet because you haven't asked me out," Hermione noted. He looked into her brown eyes.

"Well I am now. Hermione Granger, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

Hermione smiled, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes. I will."

Fred grinned. "Excellent." He kissed her forehead and intertwined their fingers. "I love you. You know that right?" he whispered. She nodded and sighed happily. _I'll deal with Ron later. If he wants to be a git about this, than let him. _She could feel her eyelids drifting shut. The last thing she saw before she fell asleep was Fred smiling at her.

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter. I have a new story idea, so I think I'm only going to give this story one more chapter. Sorry to all my loyal fans, but I got to keep things fresh. Enjoy the last chapter(s).


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